Takeaways

• Ed is mapping the brain wiring via expansion microscopy, a method where polymer is permeated through a preserved brain sample and then swollen with water.  The polymer expands, preserving nanoscale information about the brain and making it easier to map out the internal structures.  A combination of color coding and expansion seem to be the best approach.
• This method can be used by other fields to perform easy mapping at the nano/micro scale.
• Optogenetics is a technique that allows control over the brain via light.
• Microbial opsins are used to convert light into control mechanisms within neurons.
• A european team used optogenetics to restore a blind mans sight using gene therapy
• Flickering lights and sounds could be used against Alzheimers based on early data.  It seems to clean up amyloid, tau, blood flow improves.
• Imaging brain activity is extremely difficult
• Directed evolution was used to identify a molecule that can be used to image neural activity
• Light sheet, light field, and other types of microscopy could be used in conjunction with these up and coming voltage indicators.
• The perfect voltage indictaor – high dynamic range, bright, fast, doesn’t photobleach – has not been invented yet. 
• Ed has been involved in various collaborations in the past for developing robotic tools
• He is creating a company called Cognito therapeutics
• Visit synthneuro.org if you want to learn more about his work
• He’s also launching a network to collect organisms from all over the planet for analysis, and is seeking ideal team members to work with him and his lab

Challenge

•  Visualizing the processes in the brain